FORWARDS IMPRESS

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20784, 20 July 1937, Page 12

FORWARDS IMPRESS

COUNTRY PACK WAS BETTER

SATURDAY’S TRIAL One thing which the series o£ trial games arranged by the Rugby Union with a view to assisting the representative selectors has shown is that this year there is a wealth of good forwards in the district, the Sub-unions being particularly rich in that department. Tn the matches against Waimate and Mackenzie several "discoveries” were made, and those who had seen both earlier engagements formed the opinion that the Country pack would prove easily equal If not superior to the Town eight. This contention was borne out at Fraser Park on Saturday, when the Sub-union men showed more dash as a pack than their opponents and were in the ascendant for the greater part of the game. In the first half they won possession on a majority of occasions, due chiefly to the fine exhibition of hooking given by the Mackenzie man, A. Simpson. Simpson had a day out, repeatedly raking the ball away from T. Gunn, but the latter •appeared to be disconcerted by the scrummage rulings of the referee, Mr T. Forrester. From the stand, however, the cause of the trouble appeared to be the manner in which the ball was put into the scrum. In addition, Gunn did not have the requisite amount of. .weight behind him to make for consistent hooking.

The outstanding players in the Country pack were the Waimate men, J. Bryce, W. Dennison and P. Hansen. Dennison’s work in the line-outs was most impressive, while Bryce did more than his share on the side of the scrum. Hansen made the most of the tight play, of which there was an abundance in the second spell, and was the pick of the Country front-row men. A. Carlton, the Mackenzie player who filled the back-row position, repeated his success of the previous Saturday when his Sub-union met South Canterbury. With plenty of weight and pace, he was a great acquisition to the Country pack. Of the others, A. Matheson, of Waimate, an emergency who was played as a result of the defection of E. Allnutt, was most prominent. He is a good loose forward but lacks the polish and "devil” of his Sub-union team mates.

G. Adkins played a useful game in the front-row of the Town scrum and was much more effective than he was at Fairlie, where he was played as last man down. His pace and weight were particularly valuable in the loose. Fast following and keeping up with the backs gave him a try which was engineered by Ryan. Gunp, while not as efficient as usual as a» hooker, acquitted himself well in the'tight, while M. Cameron, the other front-row man, showed better form than he did at Fairlie. F. S. R. Thomson played with considerably more dash than previously and, while he was not as good a lineout forward as Dennison, his weight was in the serum all day. An experiment was tried by introducing J. Stewart, Temuka, as a lock. He gave a good display, but is not as useful a forward as Thomson. Stewart in club matches showed a tendency to scout but on Saturday he devoted all his energies to the scru.n, with marked im-

provement in his play In Cain and Fitzgerald, Town had two fast young players who should have lots of football before them, but neither was the equal of Bryce. 6f the pair, Fitzgerald was slightly better on the day. Vucetich, in the back of the Town scrum, played a different type of game from his vis-a-vis, Carlton. Carlton has not the same idea of opening up the game as Vucetich, who has had experience as a back, and the foundations of two of Town’s tries on Saturday were laid by him. Vucetich Is fast and a good type of loose forward, in fact, he is a better loose forward than Carlton.

In the absence of Saxton, the Town half-back was L. Goodson, but he did pot shape as well as he did at Fairlie. His passing was not always accurate and he was generally too slow in getting the ball away. G. Wright played a better game behind the Country pack, but he had the advantage of good forwards in front if him. He showed an inclination to run too much from the scrum. Neither o: Saturday’s halves is to be compared with Saxton, but of the two Wright was the more impressive.

The Town backs had the advantage »f having played to ether on two previous occasions and in the first spell, their combination was enhanced by the almost total lack of it in the Country tide. The Sub-union men, however, offset this disadvantage by determined low tackling, which played havoc with lhe wings and McPhail.

Opposed to R. Lundy, Bruce Morrison put up a fine performance at first five-eighth. His handling was clean and he was more penetrative than •’’Wing-Forward’’ has seen him this

season. Not for a long time has South Canterbury seen a first five-eighth who runs as straight as Morrison. His was a good all-round display, which was marred only by a tendency to go too far and lose Cartwright. Apart from the thrust he provided in orthodox passing movements, his runs down the blind side and his kicking on defence were of great value to Town. Cartwright appeared to have a day oft and was much below the form he showed at Fairlie or Waimate. His handling was erratic and his defence, usually his forte, lacked its charactertistic sprakle. His lapse could be attributed in some measure to two factors—the spoiling of the Country forwards and the fact that Morrison occasionally ran him out of position. McPhail did all that was required of him without being brilliant, but seemed to find tl.a deadliness of the Country tackling disconcerting.

Undoubtedly the star of the game was the Town winger, D. Hopkinson, who played his best game this season. Combining a zig-zag run with a change of pace and sidestep, he scored three spectacular tries after speedy dashes from outside the 25. In his last gallop he damaged his nose, which was injured some weeks ago, and retired, being replaced by his Temuka team mate, H. Mallett. Ryan was unfortunate that the ball almost invariably travelled from the scrum to the opposite wing, and, as a result he did not get many opportunities. His fend was not functioning as effectively as usual and he persisted in charging among the forwards. The tackling of the Country players at Fairlie the previous Saturday should have convinced Ryan that his fend is never likely to be effective against a man who dives round the thighs. It Is to RyanY. credit that it was his brains which paved the way for two of Town’s tries. Th first was when he cross-kicked from the 25 to Adkins, who got up in time to touch down under the posts, and the second was when by a similar manoeuvre he sent the ball across to Mallett on the opposite wing, for the Temuka man to field and flash across in the comer.

Lundy was easily the pick of the Country backs, but he also offended by trying to go too far. Had he passed more often the chances of establishing an understanding with J. Keenan, the second five-eighth, would have been enhanced. Lundy’s kicking was always accurate and his defence was sound. Keenan played a 'useful game as did Bartlett and Goulter, but the best of the outside backs was A. Smith, the Mackenzie wing. His tackling was the soundest of the Co'’"try side and, while he did not get many chances on attack, he was invaluable on defence.

C. Rolllnsln was head and shoulders above the Country full-back, J. MacKenzle, and must have settled the selectors’ doubts in that direction. His handling was safe and his kicking long and accurate. His positional play also was superior to that of his opponent.